Abstract
Lamb (n = 79) meat colour was scored by 879 untrained consumers using a scale of 0 (brown) to 100 (red). This consumer colour score (CCS) was obtained on m. longissimus lumborum (loin) and m. semimembranosus (topside), stored for short (5–7 days), medium (33–35 days), and long periods (110–112 days) and a retail display time of up to 4 days. Consumers perceived topside to be less red initially and changed from red to brown more rapidly when stored for the long-storage period (p < 0.01). Whereas, the initial CCS of loin samples were similar across the storage periods (p > 0.05). CCS and the instrument measure oxy/met (reflectance of light at wavelengths 630 nm and 580 nm) had a low correlation coefficient of 0.33 (p < 0.01). The propensity for lamb growth and leanness indicated by sire breeding values for lamb weight, eye muscle depth, eye muscle fat depth, and loin intramuscular fat had varied and inconsistent effects on CCS. Therefore, even the selection on CCS.
Highlights
AsoreyThe colour of meat on retail display has a critical influence on consumer purchasing decisions [1,2]
Lamb meat in the Australian industry is typically stored chilled under vacuum packaging for a minimum of five days for domestic markets and thirty days or more for international markets due to shipping and transportation time
The m. semimembranosus, from which the topside is derived, has a higher proportion of oxidative type I muscle fibres which express higher levels of oxidative enzymes, such as isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), compared to loin samples [6]. This higher proportion of oxidative muscle fibres found in the topside increases oxygen metabolism post-mortem, resulting in increased metmyoglobin formation [31], lipid oxidation [32], and reduces meat redness [4]
Summary
AsoreyThe colour of meat on retail display has a critical influence on consumer purchasing decisions [1,2]. Oxygen exposure causes the appealing bright red colour of meat by converting deoxymyoglobin into the red pigment known as oxymyoglobin. Continued exposure of the meat surface to oxygen causes oxidative metabolism and the subsequent generation of free radical by-products which cause the oxidation of myoglobin into the brown pigment metmyoglobin [3]. Two days is the typical retail display time of lamb meat when displayed in oxygen permeable polyvinyl chloride overwrap. After this time, retailers discount the meat to avoid rejection by consumers due to discolouration which represents a large economic loss to the lamb industry [4,5]. The m. semimembranosus is a more oxidative muscle that changes from red to brown quicker than the m. longissimus lumborum [6,7]
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